#NYCTVWK: Nat Geo Seeks To Challenge The Minds of Viewers

National Geographic Channel is trying to make viewers think while they watch TV by offering a new genre of "smart-tainment" programming that has brought in new watchers and promotional opportunities for the network.

With the network's popular series Brain Games and The Numbers Game, the network is enhancing its brand by offering entertaining, science-based shows that appeal to younger viewers, according to Howard Owens, president of National Geographic Channels.

"Nat Geo has been synonymous with exploring frontiers," said Owens at NewBay Media's NYC Television Week on Tuesday to moderator Jason Silva, who hosts Nat Geo's Brain Games. "But we thought it was time and appropriate moment to tell stories about the emerging world of the brain."

The network's Brain Games, a reality series that discusses and explores the components of the human brain, is the network's highest rated series. Owens said the combination of interactive games and experiments designed to trick your brain combined with the scientific fact behind the experiments have allowed the network to broaden its brand and expose the network to a younger audience.